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Mistaken for a California guy, Kentucky Rep. Davis bristles

If you’re from Kentucky, there are few things more
irksome than being mistaken for a guy from California.

So when Rep. Geoff Davis (R-Ky.) suffered this slight last week, he had
no choice but to fire back.

The mixup occurred during a House Ways and Means subcommittee hearing
Friday on the Korean free trade agreement, and the culprit was an
authentic West Coaster, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.).

In his opening
remarks, McDermott noted that up in Washington state, “We catch a lot of
fish,” but that in California, “where Mr. Davis and [Rep. Wally] Herger
[R-Calif.] live … unemployment is 12.3 percent.”

Still, it’s
easy to see how some people might confuse Davis with a Golden State
native: Blue-eyed and tawny-cheeked, he is one of the few naturally
blond men in Congress, along with Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Sen.
Richard Burr (R-N.C.).

To his credit, as soon as McDermott
realized his faux pas, he went a long way to fixing it.

“I want to
begin by apology,” the ranking member said as soon as he had a chance
to speak. “I moved Mr. Davis from Kentucky to California.

“And
that is … that is a severe insult to him, and I apologize publicly. I
meant [Rep. Devin] Nunes [R-Calif.].”

Davis smiled and expressed
his appreciation, though he couldn’t resist the chance to get a laugh at
California’s expense.

“Well, I thank the gentleman for pointing
that out. I remind — I reminded folks [that] I live in the United
States, not in California.”